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Common Name: Hippopotas (juvenile), Hippowdon, Kabarudon (adult)
Scientific Name: Hippoammus graveponderis
Description: Hippowdon are large quadruped mammals, measuring 79 inches long and standing 30 inches at the shoulder. They have thick, leathery skin and a bony carapace embedded with several sphincters protected by ridges. Their heads are huge and heavy, with a wide mouth and large nostrils set above sensitive black whiskers. Their teeth are thick and blunt, and they have two tusks in the bottom jaw. Hippowdon have no external ears, but their red eyes project from the head, allowing them to bury themselves beneath sand and still see. Their feet have thick nails on broad, blunt toes. The color of Hippowdon's carapace is dark gray, as are its nose, feet, and eyelids, while its skin is slate gray in females and tan in males.
Juvenile Hippowdon are called Hippopotas, and are quite different in appearance. Their brain case is underdeveloped, but their jaws are large and powerful, making them appear to be all muzzle. Their eyes are perched on stalks, allowing them to see in all directions. They lack a carapace, instead only having a single bony 'hump' on their lower backs. Hippopotas' body color is mottled shades of tan, beige, and brown, the females often being darker than the males.
Range: Hippowdon are found in eastern central Sinnoh. They have been introduced to the Northeastern Island.
Habitat: Hippowdon live in the dry rainshadow of the Coronet Range, in the cold rocky deserts found there.
Call: Hippowdon make a rough, loud bellow when angry. The sound of their breathing is a distinctive tis, tis, as they must clear sand from their nostrils with every breath. When begging, Hippopotas make a long, chattering gu-gup gup gup gup gupgup gugugu-u-u-up!
Diet: Hippowdon are largely herbivores, eating a variety of grasses, succulents and tubers, which they dig for. They migrate long distances in search of food.
Hippowdon have been observed scavenging meat, but it is believed that this is a last-resort food source.
Life Cycle: Hippowdon move in small herds, made up of a dominant male and several females and their Hippopotas. They have no breeding season. Females are ovoviviparous, keeping their eggs within their bodies for most of their incubation, laying them in a sandy patch only a few days before they hatch. This enables them to keep on the move while their eggs gestate. The Hippopotas hatchlings are able to walk from birth, and must keep up with their mother as she wanders. They take 2 years to reach independence, and reach maturity at 5 years of age, at which point young males are expelled from the herd.
Life is difficult for the young male Hippowdon. They are at increased risk of predation, and cannot breed unless they manage to defeat a dominant male. These fights are a substantial source of adolescent mortality for males. If a male manages to take control of a herd, his first action will generally be to kill any unweaned Hippopotas, in order to bring the females back into heat.
Hippowdon may live 48 years.
Relationship with Humans: Hippowdon are under high demand, both for the arena and for their tough leather. Hippowdon ranches can largely fulfill this latter demand, but trainers prefer wild individuals. Hippowdon populations are believed to be in decline, and seem to be most populous in the Northeastern Island, where they were introduced from mainland Sinnoh.
Naturalist's Notes: During the day, Hippowdon stay buried in the sand with only their nostrils and eyes projecting, in order to stay cool and protected from the sun. At night, they forage.
Hippowdon are excellent diggers, capable of moving earth both with their feet and with their mouth, which can gape 2½ feet across. In loose sand, they can even appear to 'swim' through the earth. Hippowdon use this ability to bury themselves, and to unearth nutritious tubers.
The sphincters on Hippowdon's back are very important. They are lined with blood vessels, and open during the day to allow Hippowdon's blood to cool. As a side effect, they fill with sand, which is kept inside specialized pockets that connect to muscular air sacs beneath the carapace. If the Hippowdon is attacked from the side or behind, as their main predators the Garchomp are likely to do, they can spray the predator with a blast of blinding sand.